FAQs

FAQ's

What is Conveyancing?

Transferring the ownership of a house, flat or piece of land from one person to another is known as conveyancing.

What is a Licensed Conveyancer?

A Licensed Conveyancer is a specialist property Lawyer, someone who is trained and qualified in all aspects of the law dealing with property.

How long will my matter take?

An average conveyancing transaction takes anywhere between 6-12 weeks to complete although this does vary depending on the length of the chain involved and a number of other factors.

Who will be dealing with my matter?

A qualified and experienced Lawyer will handle your transaction from start to finish. You will have direct email and telephone contact with your Lawyer throughout your transaction.

What does my quote include?

Your quote consists of two parts:

Our basic fee (i.e. what we charge to do the work); and

The disbursements (these are things we have to pay other people for on your behalf)

Will there be any unexpected fees?

We aim to provide as much cost information to you when we provide you with your conveyancing quote.

However sometimes we cannot give you information up front about all disbursements. For example if you are buying a leasehold property we may need to serve notice of your interest on the landlord for which the landlord usually charges a fee or if you are selling a leasehold property you will be required to obtain replies to enquiries of the landlord who will charge a fee. Please do note however that these disbursements would be due whoever you use to do your conveyancing.

Will I be charged if my matter falls through?

Not if you take advantage of our no move no fee option. This option enables you to pay a fee up front and if your matter does not proceed to completion for whatever reason then we will not charge you for any of the work carried out on your behalf. Please note that any disbursements paid by us on your behalf will not be refunded. Please do ask us for details of our no move no fee option when requesting a quotation.

If we have not agreed a no move no fee option with you and your matter does fall through (for whatever reason) then we will charge you a reasonable amount based on the work carried out on your file up to the point the matter falls through.

What are disbursements?

Disbursements are payments that you are responsible for paying to third parties during the course of your transaction. Stamp duty land tax, land registry payments and search fees are all examples of disbursements which we pay on your behalf at various stages of your transaction.

Why do I need to pay money to you at the start of the transaction?

Some of your disbursements will need to be paid early in the transaction. For example search fees on your purchase. We ask you to pay £300.00 to cover the cost of searches in relation to the purchase of property and £100.00 to cover the cost of obtaining copies of your title and any planning permissions in relation to a sale. These sums are payable immediately and any balance remaining is credited to your account.

All other fees and disbursements (including stamp duty) are payable after exchange of contracts but before completion.

Will I need to visit your offices to sign paperwork?

We can deal with most issues arising throughout your transaction by telephone or email saving you valuable time. However we do like to meet you face to face towards the end of the transaction so that we can run through all the paperwork and deal with any questions you may have about the property or the process. If coming to our office will be difficult then do let us know at the start the transaction so that we can do our best to accommodate your requirements

What happens on the day of completion?

Provided we have exchanged contracts, then on the day of completion the purchase monies are transferred from one solicitor to another by Bank Telegraphic Transfer. How long the telegraphic transfer takes depends on how busy the Bank Transfer system is on the day.

Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about the Bank Transfer system. However if you are buying then sometimes we will request your mortgage advance to arrive the day before completion in order to avoid any delays on the completion day itself. We will speak to you before we do this as interest will be charged by your lender from the day funds are sent to us. If you are selling completion effectively happens once we have receive the purchase funds in our bank account. If you are buying then completion will effectively happen once the seller’s solicitor receives funds. Upon receipt of funds the Lawyer will authorise release of keys.

When will I be able to pick up my keys?

Keys will not be released to you until the seller’s Lawyers have received all of the purchase monies.

If an Estate Agent is involved then they will usually hold the keys and they will let you have them when the seller’s Lawyers have informed them that the purchase money has arrived.

If there are no Agents, you should liaise with the seller to arrange to collect the keys directly from them. The seller’s Laywers should advise the Seller when they are in receipt of the purchase money.

When should I book my removal firm?

Not until we have exchanged contracts because until this time either party to the transaction can withdraw and you may lose any advance booking fee paid to the removal firm.

We are a specialist conveyancing firm and pride ourselves on offering you a highly professional, personal and efficient service at a competitive price.